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Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Community service to be part of studies by 2017

Community service will be inculcated as part of the education process for primary and secondary school students by 2017 under the education blueprint.

TO develop values-driven Malaysians, every primary and secondary school student will be required by 2017 to participate in community service.

For secondary school students, this community service element will be a prerequisite for graduation. The community service component was part of the Education Ministry's range of actions to inculcate students with core, universal values and a strong Malaysian identity.

This will also include a greater focus on the Islamic Education curriculum for Muslim students and similarly, for non-Muslim students, Moral Education will include an understanding of the core values of all main religions in the country.

Apart from that, the ministry will also look into having Moral and Islamic Education students share certain classes together when common universal values are taught.

Other measures undertaken will include scaling up the Students' Integration Plan for Unity (RIMUP) programme to encourage intergroup friendships through co-curricular activities.

Currently, the ministry runs a cross-school activity programme to foster greater interaction across students from different school types.

From 2016, the frequency and intensity of the programme will be increased and targeted at schools with more homogeneous student populations, such as national-type and religious schools.

The ministry will also expand this programme to include private schools.

Additionally, the development of a student's talents and interests outside of a formal classroom setting will be reinforced.

Every student will be expected to participate in at least 1Sport, 1Club and 1Uniformed Body.

The participation may be looked upon in the future as a requirement for graduation and scholarships for further education.

Hence, to improve the quality of activities offered at each school, the ministry will provide targeted training to teachers who act as advisers for these activities and who will forge partnerships with more community organisations and private sectors in the delivery of these programmes.